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Dallas’ Dominic DeLuca leads the pack early in the 3200 meter run final on Saturday in Shippensburg. DeLuca went on to place 5th. Butch Comegys / Staff Photographer

SHIPPENSBURG — For a two-event state medalist, Northwest Area junior Tyler Burger had an awfully frustrating day.

He darted from the long jump pit to the semifinals of the 110 hurdles, where he proceeded to false start, an automatic disqualification. The top seed in the long jump, he won a sixth-place medal at 21 feet, 5.75 inches. But frustration soon turned to triumph, as Burger came back in the afternoon to win a bronze medal in the 300 hurdles in 38.54 seconds. Burger and GAR sophomore Anthony Maurent (100 and 200) were the Wyoming Valley Conference’s only two-event medalists Saturday at the PIAA Track & Field Championships at Seth Grove Stadium.

“I used it to my advantage because I was very upset,” Burger said of his redemptive mindset after the 110. “That stayed in the back of my mind. ‘Hey, I false started, now I have to do better. I have to go for it.’ It helped me a lot.”

Burger’s false start was an unfortunate case of déjà vu, as he did the same thing in the prelims of the 2012 state meet. He said the starter’s extended pause after the “set” command threw him off.

“All day the gunners have been holding it really long,” Burger said. “Next year I know not to anticipate the gun because they are unpredictable.”

Still stewing from the 110, Burger returned to the long jump pit, but could not clear the 22 feet needed for a top-three finish.

In the 300, Burger was three lanes to the inside of Meyers sophomore Raheem Twyman. And despite being eighth halfway through the race, Burger kicked it into overdrive around the final turn and straightaway. Twyman, making his PIAA debut, took sixth (39.51).

“There were a lot of nerves (when I first saw) the crowd,” Twyman said. “I’m not used to running in front of this, but it was fun.

“Sixth isn’t that bad for my first year at states. I still have two years. I can work on this.”

Like Burger, Maurent had a frustrating, some might say unlucky, two-medal state meet. After running the second-fastest time in the 100 semifinals (11.09), Maurent tweaked his hamstring in the finals and finished eighth (11.77).

“It was like five steps and after that it started messing up my leg,” Maurent said. “After that, I started limping all the way to the finish line.

“I felt like stopping, but in my mind I kept saying, “Keep going, keep going, try and get a medal.’”

Maurent wrapped his leg in ice following the 100 but never thought about dropping out of the 200.

With seven finalists, he had no illusions of a high finish, but he had to give it a shot. The hamstring, as expected, tightened up again.

He did not stop, nor did he slow down to a jog. It was a labored sprint, and as he closed in on the finish line, the crowd rose and applauded. His time (25.57) and place (seventh) were immaterial.

“It’s an honor. I never had that before,” Maurent said. “I’m still learning and it’s just an experience for next year, if I make next year. I hope I could do it again.”

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